Q. Can the two sides make a deal without Donald Fehr or Gary Bettman in the room?

A. Yes. Bettman works for the owners, Fehr works for the players, not the other way around. If they players want something, Fehr ought to follow along. Ditto the owners, who have the ability to give Bettman his marching orders. But be sure both will want to look over the deal before a final sign-off.

Q. How long will it take both sides to ratify?

A. Shouldn’t take long, and ratification — while an important step in labour situations involving, say, the auto industry — is more a formality in the world of sports. Bettman will recommend the deal to the board of governors, who generally rubber stamp things. (The NHL board of governors is very Politburo-like, with every decision announced as unanimous.) The players had not revealed how they would ratify, but a vote by phone or even email would probably suffice. Hard to imagine either side voting against a deal at this point.

Q. How long will it take between the time the two sides agree on a deal and the first puck dropped on the regular season?

A. About 10 days. Give the players two days to gather in their respective cities — remember some are coming from as far away as Russia — and let them have a camp of about a week.

Q. Will there be exhibition games?

A. Hard to know. Some teams, for sure, will try to schedule one or two. Can’t see any team scheduling more than two.

Q. How can players in Europe just leave their teams?

A. They ought to have lockout-protection clauses. Their European contracts all become null and void once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. None should have any issues returning to North America.

Q. What about Alex Ovechkin? He said he’d stay in Russia if he didn’t like the new CBA.

A. Well, maybe that was just part of the bargaining process. After all, there are international transfer agreements in place that would be violated if Ovechkin — or any player under an NHL contract — refused to report. Put this one in the “wait-and-see” category.

Q. What would the schedule look like?

A. Two guesses here, but most likely the NHL would pick up where it left off, squeeze games in where it can and add games in April. It would mean an unbalanced schedule. Another idea is to play conference games only (the league did it this way in 1995 in a 48-game, lockout-shortened season). Either way, look for the Stanley Cup to played later in June.

Q. How long will the season be?

A. If they get a deal done before the end of 2012, the season could be as long as 60 games. There is talk the NHL has a 56-game schedule prepared.

Q. What’s going to happen to Team Canada’s entry at the world junior tournament?

A. It will go from a tremendously talent-rich squad to one that’s less rich in talent. About six or eight won’t come to camp so that they can play in the NHL. That’s why Hockey Canada invited 37 — way more than usual.

Q. Can they still play the Winter Classic?

A. No. They can play games on Jan. 1, but there’s no way to revive the outdoor game at the University of Michigan. There is too much involved logistically, not to mention the NHL has reneged on its contract with the university by not having made advance payments. Watch for that game in 2014.

Q. If the lockout ends, how long will it take Roberto Luongo to report to the Leafs?

A. What? What do you know? Trades, and free-agent signings, will start almost immediately. The parameters of the new CBA will determine how easy or hard it will be to trade for players, like Luongo, who have massive contracts.

Q. What’s the first order of business for general managers?

A. Signing their restricted free agents and getting hold of the unrestricted free agents they might want. There was a slew of signings before the old collective bargaining agreement expired, but each team has two or three players unsigned. About 150 players — roughly 20 per cent of the NHLPA’s membership — remain unsigned.

Q. Who are the big-name unrestricted free agents?

A. “Big name” is a bit of a stretch in the UFA pool. But Mathieu Darche, Chris Campoli, Dominic Moore, Brian Rolston, Daymond Langkow and Jason Blake are useful parts on any team.

Q. What about restricted free agents?

A. The list here is much smaller, but more intriguing. The Leafs have one in Cody Franson. Montreal has to get P.K. Subban signed. Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers and Ryan O’Reilly of the Avalanche are also unsigned.

Q. Does any team have an advantage in the regular season due to a lockout-shortened season?

A. The guess is that young, fast teams who had a lot of players active (either in Europe or the American Hockey League) will have a leg up. Edmonton’s young guns are going great in Oklahoma City. Boston’s Tyler Seguin was having a great year in Switzerland. And let’s not discount the Maple Leafs with Matt Frattin and Nazem Kadri playing well with the Marlies.

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